A Brand New Life
Encyclopedia
A Brand New Life is a 2009 French
-South Korea
n film. The film is the debut feature of the director Ounie Lecomte, who directed and wrote this film.
Loosely based on Lecomte's own life experience, A Brand New Life is set in Seoul
in 1975, and is about a girl who is left in an all-girls' Catholic
orphanage by her father, and her struggle to adjust to her new lot in life.
A Brand New Life was released in South Korea
on 29 October 2009. The film grossed over US$
167,776, and was well received by critics. It won several awards such as the Best Asian Film Award at the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival
and the jury award at the 2009 Cinekid Festival
in Amsterdam.
) is a 9-year-old girl whose father leaves her at an orphanage after remarrying. Before leaving her at the orphanage, her father buys her new clothes and a cake to convince her that she is going on a trip. (This coincides with the Korean title, which literally means a traveler or a tourist) In the orphanage she tries to come to grips with the abandonment by her parents and insecurities about a possible adoption. She gradually makes friendships, although she retains the belief throughout most of the movie that her father will return to take her back, and struggles (sometimes violently) not to adjust to her surroundings. In the end, Jin-hee is adopted by French parents who are eagerly waiting for her at an airport to meet their new child.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n film. The film is the debut feature of the director Ounie Lecomte, who directed and wrote this film.
Loosely based on Lecomte's own life experience, A Brand New Life is set in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
in 1975, and is about a girl who is left in an all-girls' Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
orphanage by her father, and her struggle to adjust to her new lot in life.
A Brand New Life was released in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
on 29 October 2009. The film grossed over US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
167,776, and was well received by critics. It won several awards such as the Best Asian Film Award at the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter...
and the jury award at the 2009 Cinekid Festival
Cinekid Festival
The Cinekid Festival is the largest international film, television and new media festival for children aged 4 to 14 held at the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. It started as a small children's film festival and has now grown into a large organisation that develops activities for...
in Amsterdam.
Plot
Jin-hee (Kim Sae-ronKim Sae-ron
Kim Sae-ron is a South Korean actress who had roles in the film A Brand New Life and The Man From Nowhere. She won Best New Actress award at the 8th Korean Film Awards for her role in the film The Man From Nowhere....
) is a 9-year-old girl whose father leaves her at an orphanage after remarrying. Before leaving her at the orphanage, her father buys her new clothes and a cake to convince her that she is going on a trip. (This coincides with the Korean title, which literally means a traveler or a tourist) In the orphanage she tries to come to grips with the abandonment by her parents and insecurities about a possible adoption. She gradually makes friendships, although she retains the belief throughout most of the movie that her father will return to take her back, and struggles (sometimes violently) not to adjust to her surroundings. In the end, Jin-hee is adopted by French parents who are eagerly waiting for her at an airport to meet their new child.
Cast
- Kim Sae-ronKim Sae-ronKim Sae-ron is a South Korean actress who had roles in the film A Brand New Life and The Man From Nowhere. She won Best New Actress award at the 8th Korean Film Awards for her role in the film The Man From Nowhere....
as Jin-hee - Park Do-Yeon as Suk-hee
- Ko Ah-Sung as Ye-shin
- Park Myeong-Sin as a nanny
- Sol Kyung-GuSol Kyung-guSol Kyung-gu is a Grand Bell Award, Golden Space Needle Award, and Bratislava International Film Festival Best Actor winning South Korean actor. He studied film and theater at Hanyang University and upon graduation took part in mostly theatrical productions...
as Inhee's father - Oh Man-SeokOh Man-seokOh Man-seok is a South Korean actor. He studied at Seoul Yeong-dong High School, and earned a major in theatres at the Korea Arts Unification School. His acting debut was in 1999 in the play Faust, but he is mostly known for his role as Jang Taek Gi in The Vineyard Man...
- Shin Young-Sik as Ye-shin's foster father
- Mun Seong-Kun as a doctor